President Tran Dai Quang concludes official visit to Russia

President Tran Dai Quang, his spouse and a Vietnamese delegation left Saint Petersburg city on July 1, concluding a four-day official visit to Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.

President Tran Dai Quang in Saint Petersburg

Earlier on the same day, the Vietnamese President met Governor of Saint Petersburg city Georgy Sergeyevich Poltavchenko in the Smolny City Hall and representatives of local businesses.

The Governor said Vietnam is a key and important partner of the city, adding that the relations between the city and Vietnamese localities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City and the southern province of Khanh Hoa, have been built on firm foundations.

He mentioned his visit to HCM City in December 2015 during which the two sides signed numerous agreements on trade and tourism.

Georgy Sergeyevich Poltavchenko underlined education – training as an important aspect in the cooperation between his city and Vietnamese localities, saying that thousands of Vietnamese officials have been trained in Saint Petersburg, which is now home to more than 300 Vietnamese students.

Around 25 cooperation agreements have been signed between Saint Petersburg and Vietnamese universities. The city houses the first Ho Chi Minh Institute outside the territory of Vietnam.

Trade between Saint Petersburg and Vietnamese provinces and cities reached US$100 million in the first quarter of this year, the Governor said, expressing his belief that the effective Vietnam-EAEU free trade agreement will help boost the figure.

Besides businesses effectively operating in Vietnam, many others from the city have eyed investment in the country, particularly in areas of their strength such as mechanical engineering, electricity device production, port infrastructure development, and water treatment, he said.

He expressed his belief that the official visit of President Tran Dai Quang will create an important impetus for the economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Russia, including Saint Petersburg.

He revealed that his city plans to launch the first-ever photo exhibition featuring late President Ho Chi Minh at the Ermitage Museum in May 2019, as part of the activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the treaty on the basic principles for Vietnam-Russia friendship.

For his part, President Tran Dai Quang expressed his admiration for the significant achievements the city has made, saying that it deserves to be an economic, cultural, tourism and educational hub of Russia.

Expressing his delight at the fruitful multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Russia, the President spoke highly of the efforts made by the localities of the two nations to consolidate the relationship.

The regular exchange of delegations has contributed to boosting Vietnam-Russia economic and trade ties, he said, adding the effective collaboration between the two countries’ localities will be a factor propelling the bilateral relationship. Two-way trade value between Vietnam and Russia reached US$1.1 billion in the first four months of this year.

In addition to enhancing cooperation in traditional sectors like oil and gas, energy, education and culture, the two sides have expanded collaboration to new fields, including automobile manufacturing, space cooperation for peace, railway, and infrastructure construction.

Hailing the fine connection between Saint Petersburg and Vietnamese localities, the President affirmed that Vietnam will continue creating the most favourable conditions for the relationship to develop in a more practical and effective manner.

Also on July 1, the Vietnamese State leader and his entourage visited the Monument to Lenin in the Smolny City Hall and the ongoing eighth International Maritime Defence Show MVMS-2017 at the Lenexpo exhibition complex in the city.

He also visited the ancient Ekaterina Palace - one of the architectural icons of Russia and the world - in Pushkin city, around 30 kilometres south of Saint Petersburg.

(Source: NDO)